


Mad Deliverance

by belivaird_st



Category: Carol (2015), The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith
Genre: Babies, Doctors, Dreams, F/F, F/M, Fear, Multi, Nurses, Other, delivery rooms, labor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-07-29 22:21:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16273550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/belivaird_st/pseuds/belivaird_st
Summary: A pregnant, soon-to-be mother, Carol Aird, has a nightmare about going into labor.





	Mad Deliverance

Carol dreamt she was lying on a gurney with both her ankles propped high on metal stirrups, breathing in and out, watching two or three nurses entering the delivery room wearing latex gloves and long, button top white dresses. They’ve gathered around the nervous new wife and mother. One of them clamped a rubber hand on top of Carol’s perspiring, warm head - stroking parts of her sweaty blond curls. “You’re going to be a wonderful mother, Carol,” she spoke behind her mouth covered hospital mask. 

“A-Abby?” Carol recognized the muffled voice. Confused, she peered up to watch the nurse remove the mask to reveal that it was indeed her best friend and the god-mother to her future baby, Abby Gerhard.

“Just stay calm and relax,” Abby instructed her. 

Carol let out a fatal moan, squeezing her eyes shut over the process. Abby rubbed the crevices and worried lines forming the blond’s forehead with the pad of her thumb. “The baby,” Carol groaned. “It’s coming... W-Where’s the Doctor?”

“Go get him,” Abby ordered one of the other nurses. 

She fled.

Carol whimpered once she felt another sharp pain shooting across her abdomen. Crying out, she started shaking her head. “I’m not ready, Abby, I can’t do this!” she wailed. “Something’s wrong!”

“Everything’s fine. You’re doing great. Just breathe in and out, honey,” Abby consoled her. She then bent over to plant a small kiss on top of Carol’s head. 

“That’s my wife!” screeched a new voice that was all too familiar. The nurse that fetched the doctor came back, all forlorn and frightened. Carol could see Harge had become the doctor in this twisted, insane reality and was madder than ever.

Abby pulled away from Carol the moment Harge approached them. “That’s my wife,” he repeated, like a broken record.

 _No, no, no,_ Carol thought, hissing loudly through her teeth from another experience of sharpening pain. _This is not right! It doesn’t make sense!_ She screamed out crying, whacking the back of her head down hard on the metal board. Sobbing, she called out for Abby, stretching one of her arms out.

“I’m here, Carol, I’m here,” Harge spoke to her now, with such phony soft reassurance in his voice. “We’re going to have a baby now. It’s coming...”

“Where’s Abby?” Carol squinted past her husband’s shoulder at total darkness where her best friend used to be. “Where is she? I can’t see her! _Abby!_ ”

“Nurse! Sedate her, she’s in a state of shock,” Harge ordered now, sliding his face mask back over his mouth. “We need this baby to come out...”

“Get away from me! Stop it!” Carol snapped, reeling back on the gurney, jerking her shoulders. She screamed once Harge buckled and fastened a thick leather strap over her while a nurse took her arm and injected her with a needle.

“Let go of me!” Carol hollered. “Harge, the baby...?” she found herself becoming more and more drowsy. The last thing she remembered was Harge shaking his head down at her in front of a beaming white light.

Carol jolted awake to find herself in the guest bed at her in-laws’ home in New Jersey. Their maid, a colored woman, had been quietly laying down some folded maternity clothes on top of a floral design chair in one corner. She gave Carol a shy, but distant smile.

“Was I dreaming?” Carol croaked. 

“Yes, ma’am,” the maid nodded.

Carol let out a shaky laugh on her two pillows before grabbing parts of her face and rubbing the base of her swollen, pregnant belly with the other. The maid quickly approached her and helped her to sit up. 

“The Airds are both waiting for you downstairs to have some breakfast, Miss Carol,” the maid explained.

“Joy,” Carol grumbled, watching all the layered blankets unravel themselves and slip off her slept nightgown body and bare legs. The unknown baby inside of her greeted out a small, good morning kick. 

“You hungry? Let’s go then, darling,” Carol spoke gently. She thanked the maid once she received her maternity housedress, brassiere, panties, heels, and hose.

Harge’s parents had been waiting for her arrival at the dining room table where breakfast was all laid out and served. They greeted Carol warmly - very pleased to see her fragile, yet enormous self. Their housemaid helped steer their daughter-in-law to one of chairs to sit down.

“Good morning, Carol,” Jennifer Aird said, holding her fork above her plate. “Did you have a peaceful slumber?”

“Well, no, unfortunately,” Carol answered. “Had some kind of a night terror.” 

“Night terror?” John Aird repeated. 

Carol nodded and reached for her glass of orange juice. Coffee seemed too strong and bitter for both her and the baby.

“Tell us all about it,” Jennifer pressed.

“I was in a delivery room,” Carol began, sipping some juice before placing the crystallized glass down on the table. “And the baby was all ready to come out...” she paused to find both in-laws listening very carefully. Even their maid, who was putting more strips of bacon down, stared at Carol, wide-eyed with awe.

“And I remember one of the nurses turned out to be my dearest old friend, Abby,” Carol cleared her throat and picked up her fork. She stabbed some fluffy yellow scrambled eggs and popped some into her mouth. The melted cheese that was cooked on had tasted so delicious and filling and made her want to have some more.

“Abby told me that everything was going to be all right and that the doctor was coming. When he did, that’s when I screamed and woke up,” Carol concluded, feeling everyone’s gaze glued upon hers.

John Aird chuckled and picked up his buttered toast. Jennifer Aird frowned and shook her head. 

“I don’t understand, Carol,” she said. “Lots of women dream about their first delivery. That’s natrual common procedure.”

“The doctor was Harge. Your son,” Carol spoke between chews that soon got everyone bewildered.

**xxxx**


End file.
